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29 Jan – 8 Feb 2026

First wave of world premieres announced for IFFR 2026

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International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has unveiled its first wave of world premieres for its upcoming 55th edition, taking place from 29 January – 8 February 2026. The nine titles span the festival’s Bright Future and Harbour programming strands. 

IFFR’s Bright Future selection of feature-length debuts is characterised by original subject matter and an individual style, representing the cutting edge of contemporary filmmaking – with each title having either its world, international or European premiere. Echoing Rotterdam’s port city identity, Harbour offers a safe haven to the full range of contemporary cinema that the festival champions. The Harbour strand’s first wave of selected titles digs into themes of self-discovery, societal norms and the human condition.

The first wave of the programme features returning IFFR alumni, including Juja Dobrachkous whose film Bebia, à mon seul désir had its world premiere in 2021’s Tiger Competition line-up and will now return with Accept Our Sincere Apologies; and Gustavo Vinagre returns with The Passion According to GHB,  co-directed by Vinicius Couto, following his shorts Film For Blind Poet and Nova Dubai which previously featured at the festival. 

Film still: Krakatoa

Artemio Narro also returns, following the world premieres of I Stay with You (2015) and ColOZio (2019), with Art Is Dark and Full of Horrors for the 2026 edition, meanwhile Hanung Bramantyo is presenting The Hole, 309 Days to the Bloodiest Tragedy which comes after his IFFR debut this year in the Big Screen Competition with Gowok: Javanese Kamasutra, and Carlos Casas returns with Krakatoa, following previous IFFR festival selections for titles including Aral and Cemetery, while Erol Mintaş will make his IFFR debut with Earth Song.

The emerging filmmakers whose debut features can be discovered for the first time in Rotterdam include P. R. Monencillo Patindol with i grew an inch when my father died; Nolitha Refilwe Mkulisi with Let Them Be Seen and Semmalar Annam with Mayilaa.

Vanja Kaludjercic, Festival Director at IFFR, said: “We’re excited to reveal the first wave of programming across Bright Future and Harbour, and to be showcasing a range of titles that reflect the very heart of IFFR’s DNA. Our festival is built on an ethos of discovery and celebrating both bold emerging voices, alongside returning distinctive filmmakers, who each are shaping cinema in unique and powerful ways. These films set the tone for the diversity of programming we’ll have at IFFR 2026, from unconventional horror thrillers and misfit comedies to narratives exploring the complexities of belonging – all serving different communities and audience curiosities. Every one of these filmmakers deserve to reach the largest possible audience and have a platform to be heard, and it’s a privilege to provide that space for them. We hope every member of our audience will find a story that speaks directly to them.”

Film still: Mayilaa

Previous titles in Bright Future from the most recent edition of IFFR include: Debut, or Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued, which went on to additional global festivals, including a screening at Museum of Modern Art for Doc Fortnight and The Shipwrecked Triptych, which was selected for CPH:DOX, São Paulo and Museum of the Moving Image’s First Look festival. Further titles included Your Touch Makes Others Invisible; The Crowd, which won awards in Istanbul and Seattle and was also selected for São Paulo; and La guitarra flamenca de Yerai Cortés, which went on to win a Goya award. 

Standout titles from last edition’s Harbour include The Things You Kill, which went on to become Canada’s Academy Award entry for ‘Best International Feature Film and won the directing award at Sundance; and the strand also featured world premieres of the latest films by Toyoda Toshiaki, Alexander Kluge, Michael Almereyda and Courtney Stephens along with Lois Patino, whose film Ariel recently screened during BFI London Film Festival. Additional highlights included The Last Song for You, which scooped seven Hong Kong Film Awards and Dead Lover. 

The complete programme for IFFR’s 55th edition will be launched on the 16 December 2025.

Bright Future first titles

  • i grew an inch when my father died

    P. R. Monencillo Patindol | 73′ | Philippines | World premiere

    Two brothers wrestle with conflicted emotions after their abusive father is murdered.

  • Mayilaa

    Semmalar Annam | 97′ | India | World premiere

    A mother-daughter pair begin selling straw mats for survival in this funny, piercing road movie.

  • Let Them Be Seen

    Nolitha Refilwe Mkulisi | 75′ | South Africa | World premiere

    On the outskirts of South Africa’s Eastern Cape, a village and its eccentric inhabitants take centre stage.

Harbour first titles

  • Accept Our Sincere Apologies

    Juja Dobrachkous | 107′ | United Kingdom | World premiere

    Trapped in a decaying hotel, two women yearn to escape their demons and the world beyond.

  • Art Is Dark and Full of Horrors

    Artemio Narro | 120′ | Mexico | World premiere

    An outrageous satire of the Mexican art world that pits insecure artists against predatory curators.

  • Earth Song

    Erol Mintaş | 118′ | Finland | World premiere

    A resonant drama about a Kurdish emigrant’s journey into her tortured past.

  • The Hole, 309 Days to the Bloodiest Tragedy

    Hanung Bramantyo | 113′ | Indonesia | World premiere

    Investigating a series of gruesome murders in 1960s Indonesia, an army officer ventures into the heart of darkness.

  • Krakatoa

    Carlos Casas | 79′ | Spain | World premiere

    The visceral journey of a Javanese fisherman and an enormous volcanic eruption.

  • The Passion According to GHB

    Gustavo Vinagre, Vinicius Couto | 82′ | Brazil | World premiere

    Chemsex hookups turn existential in this bedroom odyssey where fake drugs fuel true intimacy.

  • About IFFR

    International Film Festival Rotterdam’s (IFFR) upcoming 55th edition of the festival will take place from 29 January – 8 February 2026. IFFR presents a leading international film festival and year-round programme and actively supports new and adventurous filmmaking talent through its co-production market CineMart, its Hubert Bals Fund, Rotterdam Lab and other industry activities.

    IFFR seeks to expand, enrich and challenge people’s views of the world and each other through film and audiovisual arts. IFFR’s programme deepens appreciation of cinema in all its forms, broadens and diversifies audiences, and creates opportunities for independent filmmakers and artists from around the globe.

    Through IFFR’s visionary programming and forward-looking  initiatives, we create a haven for the plurality of voices, audiovisual formats and diverse storytelling. We are an essential destination for film professionals and film lovers. We support filmmakers and artists with funding and development opportunities and advance the impact of their work in the world. We are accessible to everyone. Through screenings, talks, exhibitions, education, professional initiatives and funding schemes we bring people from all backgrounds together, enabling discovery, recognition dialogue, learning and development. We look where others don’t and we open a space for ideas, pushing creative boundaries that have the power to transform.

    IFFR is supported by partners including Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap (OCW), Gemeente Rotterdam, Rotterdam Festivals, Creative Europe Media, NL Film Fonds, Fonds 21, de Volkskrant and VriendenLoterij

Contact: IFFR@ddaglobal.com

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